WANT CHANGE? THIS IS HOW – HARD, GRINDING, UNRELENTING WORK

This incredible story of dedicated work leading to an important victory in the war against coal was picked up from the No New Coal Plants email group operated by the Energy Justice Network. Don't look for eloquent prose. These are just the facts. Reitman, a Sierra Club Field Organizer, is way too busy working to protect this good earth to polish the writing. NewEnergyNews could, of course, do so - but it seems more respectful to what happened in Cleveland to let Reitman's raw account stand.

A story of success
Matthew/Mattie Reitman, August 13, 2010

Background
The Medical Center Company, a non-profit district heating operation formed in 1932 to provide aggregated utility services to University Circle institutions in eastern Cleveland, burns 40,000 tons of coal/year to heat the city's leading institutions. After operating its ancient plant without a permit for 6 years running, this spring the Ohio EPA finally set a renewal process for their Title V air permit.

University Circle, formerly powered by coal (click to enlarge)

The plant is part of a hospital complex, a couple hundred feet from college apartments and commerce, and a few hundred feet from Case Western Reserve University, an emerging regional clean energy leader. University Circle has a history of sucking development money away from surrounding neighborhoods, which are predominantly Black, have high levels of poverty and abandonment, and generally feel disconnected from the University world.

The coal plant not to be (click to enlarge)

A few years ago, a Baltimore-based consultant recommended that MCC build a new coal-fired plant. Probably around the same time, their largest customer Case Western Reserve University signed the President's Climate Commitment. Hmmmm


A few months ago
Sierra coal campaign rep Nachy Kanfer asked the OEPA for a public hearing on this permit renewal, and one was granted (250 blocks away on the other side of town, but with a handful of angry phone calls we got that changed...). The hearing presented a fixed opportunity to bring attention to this issue, which is especially timely since the company has been planning to replace their aging facility.


We met with MCC President Mike Heise in July, who confirmed the company's desire to move beyond coal. Heise said their consultant's report from just a few years ago was no longer relevant, and the costs of coal have become prohibitive for them. He seems to understand that those costs will continue to rise because of fuel prices and coming regulations. We made it clear that our members will push on this issue, and that we want to see a specific date and public announcement from them.

Sierra Club Ohio protests (click to enlarge)

Organizing
We had two great contacts in East Cleveland who were total gatekeepers to the local community, local politicians, non-profits, and active University Circle types I met with them and the rest was something of a snowball effect.


Here's what I did:
-meet with representatives from the Social Justice Alliance and Sustainability Alliance faculty groups
-meet with each of the groups organizing environmental justice community groups nearby
-presentation at one of those group's meetings
-meet with the northeast Ohio Sierra Club coal committee
-door-to-door in East Cleveland (poor, Black, high abandonment, 1 mile from plant, right next to proposed site for new plant)
-door-to-door on Murray Hill (college neighborhood mere hundreds of feet from the stacks)
-meet with President of University Circle Inc which functions as the area CDC
-phone conversations with Council members from Cleveland and East Cleveland
-phone and email conversations with MCC President, emails with Board Chair
-Convio emails
-HELEN phone banking
-4 rounds of media pitches including developing a media advisory and press releases
-3 organizing trips to get it all done, for a total of 6 days on the road

click to enlarge

Coal Free!
The public hearing was scheduled for Tuesday August 10th. On Saturday I came into the office to finish up the phone bank, and saw an email from Bob Brown, who's the Treasurer at Case and Chair of the MCC (and also just so happens to be Sen. Sherrod Brown's brother). He said "MCCo has posted some new information on its web site, including a statement regarding coal." They even used our campaign language - "Medical Center Company Moving Beyond Coal"!

A Sierra Club Ohio human windmill at a protest against coal. (click to enlarge)

Uhhhh, we've still got this hearing... So I returned the email with congratulations, and finished the phone bank. Thankfully, a proactive journalist from the Plain Dealer (main Cleveland newspaper) followed this and ran a story the day before the hearing. On Monday I updated key allies, and on Tuesday we still had a packed room of 70+ for the hearing. Nobody spoke in favor of the plant, many people requested a renewal conditional on a specific plan to move away from coal.


Unfortunately, no television or newspapers attended the hearing (jerks!). Fortunately, we don't need them! Check out this powerful video compilation of citizen testimony that I made as soon as I got home from the hearing (love that flip cam!). Our friend at the Plain Dealer did run a follow-up story today as well.

click to enlarge

The Future
MCC will finish its coal-free strategic plan by the end of 2011. From what I hear, the company is likely to give up its existing facility in its own backyard in favor of a natural gas plant in, you guessed it, East Cleveland. Three steps forward, two steps back, no?


My main focus from here on will be working with a professor at Case to do a community dialogue project around the proposed site, and work with our lead volunteers and grasstops to maintain a level of public involvement in this planning process.

From mattiereitman via YouTube

Matthew/Mattie Reitman
Beyond Coal Field Organizer, Ohio
Sierra Club, 131 N High St #605, Columbus OH 43215